By DAN BISER

Both Britt Leggett and Ricardo Crawford are now realizing dreams they both had long before they entered West Columbus High School several years ago.

“Playing college football is something that I had thought about for a long time,” said Leggett, a 6-foot-5, 295-pound starting offensive lineman for Coastal University in Conway, S.C. “I remember watching games on television when I was very young and thinking how much I would want to do that.”

“I don’t ever remember not wanting to play college football,” said the 6-foot-2, 295-pound Crawford, who could see playing time in the defensive line as a true freshman next fall at the University of Georgia. “It was always one of my goals.”

Leggett and Crawford both returned to the West Columbus High fieldhouse last week to visit WCHS head coach Vernon Brigman and other coaches as well as current Viking football players during weight-room workouts.

Leggett started four games and averaged about 25 snaps per game for the Coastal squad this past season as the Division I-AA Chanticleers wound up with a 8-3 record. Coastal, which posted a 10-1 record in 2004, has been fielding a football team for only four years. Leggett was red-shirted his freshman year after being part of Coastal’s second signing class.

“The football program has done well,” Leggett said. “We’re still working toward building a tradition and getting more recognized throughout the country, but we’ve built a pretty good record even though our program is still considered almost brand new.”

Leggett was a four-year starting lineman at West Columbus, who also played basketball and baseball while at West Columbus.

“I really like everything about Coastal,” Leggett said. “It’s right near the beach and not far from home.”

Crawford turned in an outstanding senior season for West Columbus this past fall as the Vikings finished runnerup in the Southeastern Conference and advanced to the second round of the state 1A playoffs. He was named to the All-State team and played for the victorious North Carolina All-Stars in the Shrine Bowl.

Crawford graduated from WCHS in December, signed with Georgia and enrolled on the Athens campus in January. He took part in spring drills and is listed as a back-up at a defensive tackle position for the Bulldogs.

“Everything happened kind of fast,” Crawford said. “In November, I was playing here at West Columbus, in December I was playing in the Shrine Bowl and in January I was in college classes and working out with a Division I program.

“It was tough at first because there were so many changes at one time,” he said. “I managed to get through it and I am pretty happy with the way things went for me during spring training. I learned a lot.”

Leggett said that learning college lineman techniques was the biggest transition he had in moving from high school to college football.

“There was more to learn than I ever dreamed of,” he said. “It takes a lot of hard work to get everything down. We run out of a spread offense, so offensive linemen have a lot of responsibility.”

Crawford said getting used to the speed and quickness of the college game has been the biggest transition for him.

“Playing in high school, I was bigger and quicker than most of the other linemen I went against,” he said. “In college, they are all bigger and quicker. You have to work hard to get better.”

Crawford is part of a solid 2006 Bulldog recruiting class. The class is headed by the nation’s top quarterback prospect, Matt Stafford of Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas.

Coach Brigman said that Leggett and Crawford both played big roles in the current success of Viking football.

“Britt really helped lay the groundwork while he was here,” Brigman said. “Ricardo was among a good group of seniors who helped us turn the corner.”

Coach Dave Bennett’s Coastal squad will open its 2006 season on Sept. 2 when it plays host to Elon.

Coach Mike Richt’s defending Southeast Conference champion Georgia team will open on Sept. 2 with a home game against Western Kentucky.